Jimone Griffin had just taken her son lunch and walked back across the street when she heard the gunfire.
Shot after shot after shot rang out, at least 39 in all, in broad daylight on Birmingham’s Center Street in the Smithfield community.
The gunfire took the life of her son, Talton “TJ” Tait, 36, and the lives of three others.
“I heard the gunshots and kind of ran,’’ Griffin said. “I turned around and they were still shooting.”
“There were four of them out there and when I turned around and looked, I saw two pair of shoes, but I didn’t see my son’s shoes,’’ she said. “I was just pacing. I didn’t want to come back over here because I knew.”
The shooting happened about 2:45 p.m. Friday outside Tait’s family home where he ran a neighborhood car wash.
Investigators believe at least one person in a vehicle carried out the deadly, targeted drive-by.
The three others killed were identified as Cortez Ray, 32, Terrell Edwards, 38, and Kevin McGhee, 38.
A drive-by shooting in Birmingham’s Smithfield community left four men dead on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.(Carol Robinson)
Edwards and Ray, one of whom was there getting a car wash, fell in front of the home near the cars. Tait, a father of four, ran a short distance before collapsing on the side of a neighbor’s house.
All three were pronounced dead on the scene.
McGhee was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The four victims had known each other since childhood. They all leave behind children.
“They all grew up together right here,’’ Griffin said. “From elementary school through high school.”
The house where they were shot was a neighborhood gathering spot, Griffin said.
“It was everyone’s safe place,” she said.
Two of the victims, McGhee and Edwards, were cousins.
Their cousin, Leelee Thomas, said both were great men, amazing fathers, and went to work and spent time with their children and families.
“They were popular and very much loved,’’ Thomas said. “They will be missed.”
Tait ran the neighborhood car wash, but also did so much more.
“He painted the store on the corner. He cut all the grass on this block, even abandoned houses,’’ Griffin said.
He even went to the store for his elderly neighbors and gave them free car washes on Sunday.
“They called him ‘Black Jesus,’’’ Griffin said.
Talton Tai(Contributed)
The grieving mother said Tait was the rock of the family.
“He fed me in the morning, he fed me in the evening. He took care of me, and his sister and his brother,’’ Griffin said. “He had the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
“Everybody who met my child was touched by him and loved him,’’ Griffin said. “There was something special about him.”
Griffin’s mother helped raise Tait. She said she takes some solace in knowing they’re together in Heaven.
“He loved my mama,’’ she said. “I feel like he’s probably OK with being where he’s at.”
Griffin wants answers, and justice.
“He did not deserve to be gunned down in the street,’’ she said.
Friday’s shooting stunned the Smithfield community.
The four were killed less than two hours before two more homicide victims – a Birmingham couple missing since Valentine’s Day – were found in a Wylam alley.
“Our city has been rocked to its core by today’s events,’’ Birmingham police Chief Scott Thurmond said at the crime scene Friday afternoon. “Our city and communities are hurting beyond belief.”
“This has been a heartbreaking afternoon for our city. A half dozen families are in mourning,’’ Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a Facebook post. “That includes the family of one of our city employees. That also includes my own family.” The mayor said one of his cousins was among Friday’s victims.
“I refuse to sit by and watch these tragedies unfold, devastating families — our friends, and our neighbors. Failure to address the killings in our city is not an option,” Birmingham City Council Public Safety Chair LaTonya Tate said.
Birmingham pastors The Rev. Cedric Hatcher and Apostle Wanda Woldridge, leader of Mothers Against Violence, visited Smithfield on Saturday to address the violence.
“We have a crisis going on in this city,’’ Hatcher said. “Anytime six individuals lose their life to gun violence, that’s a crisis.”
“We’ve got clergy all over this neighborhood. We’ve got to do better,’’ he said. “We want to lift these family members up. A lot of families are hurting. We’re calling for prayer, but prayer is no good without works.”
A drive-by shooting in Birmingham’s Smithfield community left four men dead on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.(Carol Robinson)
“Black lives could matter, should matter, would matter if we stop killing each other,’’ Hatcher said. “We’ve got to stop the madness.
Woldridge lost her son to gun violence 18 years ago.
“I promised myself and I promised God I would always be in the streets,’’ she said. “When I saw six individuals had gotten killed, it really touched my heart.”
“This hurt me,’’ she said. “Stop the violence and increase the peace.”
As of Saturday afternoon, no arrests had been made in any of Friday’s six homicides.
Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Source: www.al.com
